Richard Wilbur
Richard Purdy Wilbur (March 1, 1921 - October 14, 2014) was an American poet and translator. He was appointed the 2nd Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1987, and twice received the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry. Life Youth Wilbur was born in New York City and grew up in North Caldwell, New Jersey."Celebrate the life and work of poet Richard Wilbur", '' Berkshire Eagle'', June 24, 2005. The son of a painter, "Wilbur spent his childhood in North Caldwell..." When only 8 years old, Wilbur published a poem in John Martin's Magazine. He graduated from Amherst College in 1942 and then served in the United States Army from 1943 to 1945 during World War II. Career After the Army and graduate school at Harvard University, Wilbur taught at Wesleyan University for 2 decades and at Smith College for another decade. At Wesleyan he was instrumental in founding the award-winning poetry series of the Wesleyan University Press.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/s_z/wilbur/bio.htmquery.nytimes.com He teaches at Amherst College.https://www.amherst.edu/people/facstaff/rpwilbur42 He married Charlotte Hayes Ward in 1942 after his graduation from Amherst; she was a student at nearby Smith College. His debut collection, The Beautiful Changes and other poems, appeared in 1947. Since then he has published several volumes of poetry, including New and Collected Poems (Faber, 1989). Wilbur was also a translator, specializing in the 17th- century French comedies of Moliere and the dramas of Jean Racine. His translation of Tartuffe has become the standard English version of the play, and has been presented on television twice. (A 1978 production is available on DVD.) Wilbur died on October 14, 2017, aged 96, at a nursing home in Belmont, Massachusetts from natural causes. Writing Continuing the tradition of Robert Frost and W.H. Auden, Wilbur's poetry finds illumination in everyday experiences. Less well-known is Wilbur's foray into lyric writing. He provided lyrics to several songs in Leonard Bernstein's 1956 musical, Candide, including the famous "Glitter and Be Gay" and "Make Our Garden Grow." He has also produced several unpublished works such as "The Wing" and "To Beatrice". Recognition His honors include 2 Pulitzer Prizes in Poetry (in 1957 and 1989), the 1983 Drama Desk Special Award for his translation of The Misanthrope, the National Book Award in 1957, the Edna St Vincent Millay award, the Bollingen Prize in 1971, and the Chevalier, Ordre National des Palmes Academiques. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1959. In 1987 Wilbur became the 2nd poet, after Robert Penn Warren, to be named U.S. Poet Laureate after the position's title was changed from Poetry Consultant. In 1989 he won a 2nd Pulitzer, for his New and Collected Poems. On October 14, 1994, he received the National Medal of Arts from President Clinton.*The White House - Office of the Press Secretary In 2006, Wilbur won the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. In 2010 he won the National Translation Award for the translation of The Theatre of Illusion by Pierre Corneille. Awards *Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts (1952, 1963) *Poetry Society of America Millay Award (1957) *National Book Award for Poetry (1957) for Things of This World *Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (1957, 1989) for Things of This World, New and Collected Poems *Bollingen Prize for Poetry (1971) *Shelley Memorial Award (1973) *New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Musical (1973–1974) for Candide *Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical (1973–1974) for Candide *Drama Desk Special Award (1983) for translation of The Misanthrope *United States Poet Laureate (1987-1988) *Laurence Olivier Award for Musical of the Year (1988) for Candide * St. Louis Literary Award from the Saint Louis University Library Associates * American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal in Poetry (1991) * PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation (1994) * Frost Medal (1996) * Wallace Stevens Award (2003) * Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize (2006) Publications Poetry * The Beautiful Changes, and other poems. Reynal, 1947. * Ceremony, and other poems. Boston: Harcourt, 1950. * A Bestiary. New York: printed at the Spiral Press for Pantheon Books, 1955. * Things of This World. Boston: Harcourt, 1956. *''Poems, 1943-1956''. London: Faber, 1957. * Advice to a Prophet, and other poems. Boston: Harcourt, 1961. * Walking to Sleep: New poems and translations. Boston: Harcourt, 1969. * The Mind-Reader: New poems. Boston: Harcourt, 1976. * New and Collected Poems. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988. * Mayflies: New poems and translations. ''New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 2000) * ''Collected Poems, 1943-2004. San Diego, CA: Harcourt, 2004. * Anterooms: New poems and translations. Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010.New Poems and Translations (Google eBook), Google Books, Web, June 26, 2012. Non-fiction * Responses: Prose pieces, 1953-1976. Harcourt, 1976. * The Catbird's Song: Prose pieces, 1963-1995. Harcourt, 1997. Translated * Moliere, The Misanthrope: Comedy in five acts, 1666 (produced in Cambridge, MA, by the Poet’s Theatre, October 25, 1955; produced off-Broadway at Theatre East, November 12, 1956). Harcourt, 1955. *(Lyricist with John Latouche, Dorothy Parker, Lillian Hellman, and Leonard Bernstein) Voltaire, Candide: A comic operetta based on Voltaire’s satire (musical; based on adaptation by Lillian Hellman; music by Leonard Bernstein; produced on Broadway at Martin Beck Theatre, December 1, 1956; produced on the West End at Saville Theatre, April 30, 1959). New York: Random House, 1957. * Philippe de Thaun, The Pelican, from a Bestiary of 1120 (poem). privately printed, 1963. * Moliere, Tartuffe: Comedy in five acts, 1669 (produced in Milwaukee, WI, at Fred Miller Theatre, January, 1964; produced on Broadway at ANTA Theatre, January 14, 1965). Harcourt, 1963. * Moliere, The Misanthrope / Tartuffe. Harcourt, 1965. *Moliere, The School for Wives: Comedy in five acts, 1662 (produced on Broadway at Lyceum Theatre, February 16, 1971 ). Harcourt, 1971. * Moliere, The Learned Ladies: Comedy in five acts, 1672 (produced in Williamstown, MA, at the Williamstown Festival Theatre, 1977). Harcourt, 1978. * Jean Racine, Andromache: Tragedy in five acts, 1667. Harcourt, 1982. *Moliere, Four comedies. Harcourt, 1982. * The Whale, and other uncollected translations. Rochester, NY: BOA Editions , 1982. * Racine, Phaedra. Harcourt, 1986. * Moliere, The School for Husbands. Harcourt, 1992. * Moliere, The Imaginary Cuckold. New York: Dramatists Play Service, 1993. *Moliere, The School for Husbands / Sganarelle; or, The imaginary cuckold. Harcourt, 1994. * Moliere, Amphitryon. New York: Dramatists Play Service, 1995. * Baudelaire, 1854. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1997. *Moliere, Don Juan. New York: Dramatists Play Service, 1998; published as Don Juan: Comedy in five acts, 1665. Harcourt, 2001. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy the Poetry Foundation.Richard Wilbur b.1921, Poetry Foundation, Web, June 26, 2012. See also * List of U.S. poets References Notes External links ;Poems *"Anterooms" *Richard Wilbur profile and 9 poems at the Academy of American Poets *Richard Wilbur b. 1921 at the Poetry Foundation *Richard Wilbur: Poems in the Internet Poetry Archive *Richard Wilbur at PoemHunter (31 poems) ;Audio/video *Richard Wilbur (b. 1921) at The Poetry Archive *Readings by Wilbur at the Key West Literary Seminar: 1993, 2003, 2010 *Richard Wilbur at YouTube *"The World is Fundamentally a Great Wonder": Richard Wilbur in conversation with Arlo Haskell, October 21 2009. Littoral. ;Books *Richard Wilbur at Amazon.com ;About *Richard Wilbur in the Encyclopædia Britannica *Richard Wilbur at NNDB *Richard Wilbur: A critical survey of his career" by Dana Gioia *Richard Wilbur (1921- ) at Modern American Poetry * *[http://www.nysun.com/arts/voice-that-stands-alone/5555/ Ernest Hilbert reviews Richard Wilbur's Collected Poems for the New York Sun] *Essays on a Wilbur poem ;Etc. *Richard Wilbur: Online resources at the Library of Congress *Settings of Richard Wilbur's poetry in the Choral Public Domain Library Category:1921 births Category:Living people Category:American poets Category:Formalist poets Category:Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients Category:American Poets Laureate Category:Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winners Category:Amherst College alumni Category:Harvard University alumni Category:Wesleyan University faculty Category:Smith College faculty Category:People from Essex County, New Jersey Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Category:20th-century poets Category:Poets Category:English-language poets Category:American academics